Odd Love
by AGoingUnder88
Summary: Crystal lives obliviously in the Matrix until she falls in love with a program. Will she find a way to make the program fall in love with her? Or will she be doomed to a life of tears of unrequited love? Note: This fan fic is completed.
1. Cold, Windy Night

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers own all the original Matrix characters.  
I own Crystal and Peter.  
  
Chapter One: Another Frigid Night  
  
"Just another frigid, blustery night with the wind sighing in protest, just like my life," pondered Crystal as she kicked a rock in her angst. Crystal's flaming hair flew wildly in the wind as her emerald-green eyes gently choked back the tears held in for so long. Her sharp nose was red from the icy frost while her usual peaches-and-cream complexion was pale from the delicate snowflakes around her. Crystal sorrowfully stared down at her turquoise trench coat with her clashing combat boots adorned with silver buckles. "If only my life could be as pure as the innocent snow, if only it could be shoveled out of the driveway when it got to be an obstacle...if I would've have never met..." Her last word was drowned out by a heart-breaking sob. "Oh, wonderful Peter," she thought as tears continued to trickle down, "I remember meeting you so well..."  
  
On that fateful day, Crystal had been in a dream-like trance from her wonderful promotion to software specialist, after Mr. Thomas Andersen had disappeared. Crystal thought it a shame that the mysterious, handsome, intelligent man she had cultivated a friendship with had gone away so suddenly. So, she had started a thorough search to find this friend who led double lives, one as a software specialist under his real name and another as a well-known hacker under Neo. Unfortunately, she had only been at her search on the Internet and around the streets for two days before two men in dark suits with sunglasses told her robotically that Mr. Andersen had died. Crystal was shocked and quietly took one last look at his beautiful brown eyes in a picture before the agents threw it away. Oddly, Crystal dealt with pain by pretending it never happened, so she chirpily accepted Mr. Andersen's old position the next day, oblivious to the fact that the agents wanted to steer her as far away from the resistance as possible.  
  
Clueless Crystal suspected nothing of another world existing other than the one in which she lived, but she constantly had a sinking feeling that there was more to the world than what the eye saw. She always felt like she was in some dream-like trance or that she hadn't gotten enough sleep, so she always had the feeling of a zombie wandering a cemetery. However, she wasn't happy or miserable in her life, with a normal childhood and an adolescence of constantly being called a geek because all kids are cruel in school. She was as ordinary as any other person until she laid eyes on the most perfect guy, the man of her dreams.  
  
When Crystal was merely fifteen, she had written in a diary exactly what the man of her dreams would be like: He will walk like a gust of wind, grinning at everyone in his path. He will be six feet tall with striking blue eyes that are windows into his soul. His hair will be brighter than any gold can muster and his adorable dimples will always appear on his face. He will have laughter like ringing bells and always know what to say. He will be sensitive and kind, wonderful and caring, funny and strong, with a burning desire to help others. He will be my dream guy.  
  
Now at twenty-three, she shockingly saw the embodiment of her dreams grinning as he ordered her favorite drink, a chocolate-vanilla float. Because she was so busy gaping in astonishment, she failed to notice a trucker scream from his yellow truck, "Move it lady! Are you retarded or something?" So of course a pile of manure quickly covered her hair in the worst smell. Crystal cringed her nose at the stagnant smell as the truck driver said, "Don't you dare cringe your nose at this premium quality! You know how many people would pay big bucks for this stuff? You're incredibly lucky to get for free!" he grumbled in disgust as he pulled away from the curb.  
  
Crystal moaned, "Great, my true love is right around the corner and he just witnessed all my stellar luck in getting free manure! Maybe he'll be a farmer and want to pick off the free manure for his farm, but other than that chance, it's highly unlikely that he'll speak to me." Crystal tried to shrug off and smile at the incident to impress the gleaming stranger now curiously staring at her. However, her humiliation had not come to an end since Crystal had always been especially prone to accidents in front of good-looking guys. On her way to the quaint checkered tablecloth where her current obsession sat, a car splashed water in her face, ten pigeons had decided to excrete on her skirt, and she tripped on the curb, breaking both of her magenta high-heeled shoes. In exasperation, she plopped down onto a wooden chair in front of the man she had hoped to impress but knew had utterly caused the impression that she was mentally impaired. "Hey, what have I got to lose?" she thought as she sat down at his table. "Hi, my name is Crystal. I'm not usually so lucky as to get free manure then a free shower by a car, but I guess you're my lucky charm. What's your name?" The stranger laughed and flashed a perfect set of teeth that nearly caused Crystal to melt right on the spot. "You can call me Peter. I have to say, not many women covered in manure sit next to me." "Well, Peter, I'm not many women," winked Crystal. "Why don't you get cleaned up so I can find that out for myself?" "I'd love to! Pick me up at seven here at this bar. I'll miss you," teased Crystal.  
  
With a merry skip in her step, Crystal never stopped to wonder the strangeness of a man asking her out after smelling so much horse manure. She never stopped to ponder why anyone in his or her right mind would take a stranger out to dinner. The disease of love hit her and it had blinded all the suspicions in her mind. She was oblivious to pain and joyfully chose a sexy but unoriginal red dress for her date with a dream.  
  
The date had not gone as she had expected. In fact, despite Peter's pleasant company, it seemed he was not attracted to her at all. They had both gotten to know each other and found they had many of the same tastes, but while Crystal was madly in love with Peter, Peter merely laughed at all her flattery and flirtatious comments and was ignorant of Crystal's burning desire of being more than friends. They ended the night with a quick handshake and Crystal's invitation to spend the night bluntly turned down.  
  
Despite her disappointment, Crystal was determined to seduce the love of her life into returning her powerful feelings. Week after week, Crystal persisted in her mission, but to no avail. Peter promptly ignored all her flirting, teasing, and sexy implications. Distraught, Crystal became suspicious of another woman so she expertly installed a monitor on Peter's phones and computers to catch the culprit of standing in the way of the happiness in her love life.  
  
To her dismay, Crystal's installations had only uncovered the scrambled messages of a man's voice constantly murmuring about "The Matrix" and "The Resistance." She could only assume that the matrix was the mathematical term and that Peter had to use it for some complex calculations in his job. As for The Resistance, she thought it probably meant another strike that Peter had to solve.  
  
"It's really suspicious that Peter didn't even mention his job to me. For all I know, he could be in the mafia, in a gang, a drug dealer...Great, aside from trying to seduce him unsuccessfully for five weeks, I also have to find out what he does for a living," thought Crystal.  
  
Crystal's obsessive behavior may have seemed like the act of a desperate single woman, but strangely it was quite on the contrary. During Crystal's seducing mission, no less than ten men had sent her flowers asking her out to a drink. Crystal ignored the fragrances of the roses and daisies and had eyes only for Peter. Brad Pitt had even proposed to Crystal, his former sweet heart, but Crystal looked away, knowing that she was bound to find her dream man. Now she had definitely found her dream man, but with a romance in hell that only made her miserable.  
  
"Whoever said love lifts us up where we belong obviously never felt unrequited love. Unrequited love slaps our self-esteem to the ground," mumbled Crystal as she sighed and once again faced the challenge of trying to make her true love fall return her feelings. "Peter, what is that you do for a living?"  
  
"Um, I...That's none of your business!"  
  
"Peter, why are you constantly shutting me out of your life? I know nothing of your childhood, your job, your past sweethearts...Why do you pain me so by leaving me in oblivion about the person I care most about, you?"  
  
"For the last time, I only like you as a friend! Why is that so hard to understand?"  
  
"Because I don't know how a love as great as mine can be returned with only feelings of tolerance!"  
  
"You ask too much of me! Get out of my house!"  
  
And Crystal ran out into the street and found herself in a cold night with the sighing wind. After wallowing in self pity observing the swirling snow- flakes around her, she was startled by a whispering voice, "Crystal..." "Who's there?" asked Crystal shakily. A man adorned all in black with sunglasses stepped out of the shadows. He quietly removed his shades. Crystal gasped in astonishment. "T-Tom? Tom Andersen?" Suggestions? Comments? Complaints? 


	2. Unexpected Answers

Chapter Two  
  
"Yeah, but they call me Neo now," he replied with a grin.  
  
"How...what...uh? They told me you were dead!"  
  
Crystal let some tears slip as she hugged Neo tightly in relief. However, Neo gently pulled away and spoke.  
  
"Let me guess, those robotic men in black suits, right?"  
  
Crystal was too stunned to speak; she still couldn't believe that Neo was alive.  
  
"So are you hiding because they found out you were a hacker or something? What's going on?"  
  
Neo sighed and thought about how complex it would be to explain the vastness of The Matrix. But then he remembered the bewilderment he had felt when Morpheus offered him a choice of the blue pill or the red pill. Knowing how it felt like to be left in the dark, he decided to try and answer some of Crystal's questions.  
  
"Have you ever felt like everything is just a dream? Like none of this is real?"  
  
"All the time, but I always assume it's because I never get enough sleep."  
  
"Well, that's not the cause of it. The truth is, you're living in a virtual world, called The Matrix, with computers and programs masked behind ordinary people. Your beloved Peter is a program and he isn't human. Peter was a program created to distract you from finding the resistance and joining it. He was created based on a diary you wrote when you were fifteen. My death was a lie created by agents, those are people who keep The Matrix in order, to stop you from being unplugged."  
  
Crystal didn't believe it for a second. Surely Neo must have escaped from a mental ward.  
  
"You're lying! Peter is too perfect to be a machine, and what's all this rubbish about a virtual world? What asylum did they put you in??"  
  
"Or is Peter too perfect to be human? Think about it. When has he ever kissed you? When has he ever discussed his past or his job with you?"  
  
"I'm sure there's a more logical explanation to Peter being so bottled up other than him being a "program" and us living in a "virtual world." I won't believe you until I see living proof of what you're saying!"  
  
"Alright, but now you have to make a choice if that's what you really want. Take the red pill, and you'll find yourself at home with no memory of this event. Take the blue pill, and I will show you that The Matrix exists and the war that we must face against the machines."  
  
Oh great, now he's got the drugs that probably made him crazy in the first place, thought Crystal to herself. She narrowed her eyes.  
  
"First you have to show me that those pills won't make me go crazy like you are."  
  
Neo raised his eyebrows. He used to think of Crystal as such an intelligent, strong-willed woman that he never expected her to be this suspicious. Nevertheless, they needed Crystal for the resistance; she would prove to be very valuable considering that she had found a way to decipher some of the agents' messages.  
  
"Alright. See that dog over there? I'll give him the blue pill to prove to you that it does not affect one's state of mind."  
  
The dog swallowed the blue pill and trotted off as though nothing had happened. Crystal sighed and realized that to figure out what all this meant, she would have to be much more trusting.  
  
"Fine, I really want to see if all what you say is true."  
  
She swallowed the blue pill with water after Neo had gently laid it on her clasped hand.  
  
"That blue pill will provide us a constant report of where you are. Now, come with me."  
  
He stepped by the mirror and Crystal quickly checked her make-up. Neo rolled his eyes.  
  
"Great, I'm about to show you the truth about the world and you're busy checking your eye-shadow!"  
  
"Hey, this isn't for me! Peter told me he loves make-up, and for some odd reason, I can't stop doing what he says!"  
  
"Wow, those agents really programmed Peter to completely manipulate you! We better get to Zion before he has a complete grasp of you. It's a miracle you held out for as long as you did! Now, touch that mirror next to you."  
  
Crystal gasped when she saw that the mirror was like gel. Neo seemed to be telling the truth after all; a mirror by the law of physics could never do that in the real world. She didn't even want to start thinking about how Peter was a machine. She braced herself for what was about to come.  
  
Crystal feebly lifted up her eyelids to see countless pins stuck in her body and Neo looking at her concerned. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Well, it's strange, but for an odd reason, I feel like I belong here. I have a vague memory of this ship and I believe in your words."  
  
"I'm happy to hear that, so you know all about the war against the machines?"  
  
"Yes, I know they have kept us in control for year with The Matrix. And I'm pissed off, I feel like fighting one of those agents!"  
  
"What else do you know?"  
  
"That you're The One destined to fulfill the prophecy and save us all."  
  
Neo was astonished that Crystal knew so much after he had only told her a small fraction of what was really going on. In fact, he was puzzled WHY she knew so much.  
  
"How do you know all this?" 


	3. Dancing

Chapter Three  
  
"It's funny, but my mind seems much clearer here...the absence of Peter has unblocked information I didn't even know I had. So I guess all that I know is from listening in on Peter's phone calls. According to my newly cleared mind, Peter erased my memory after he found out how much I knew, but I assume that for my mind to be completely erased, he has to be around. I still miss Peter terribly, though, and even if he's a program, I'm in love with him and..." Crystal choked back tears.  
  
Neo couldn't help being touched and pained at his friend's sadness so with a sigh he wrapped his arms around her and sighed.  
  
"It's alright, Crystal, everything's going to get better now that we have you to aid us in the war against the machines. Hey, maybe with your extensive knowledge of machine-speak, you can even discover how to make Peter human."  
  
Crystal looked up, her eyes sparkling with hope once again.  
  
"Oh, Neo, that would be the most wonderful day of my life! Let's celebrate this joyful news! Let's dance!"  
  
And before Neo could protest, he was dragged to the Nebbacanezaur's main cabin where rock music blared.  
  
"Crystal, you know I never dance...maybe we should celebrate in another way?"  
  
Crystal smiled deviously and merely replied, "Well, you'll never learn how to dance unless you actually practice it!"  
  
Crystal rushed over to the CD player and put on an upbeat tango tune.  
  
"This is the best music to dance to in the world, and it'll definitely bring out the rhythm in you!"  
  
She then proceeded to show Neo the various dance steps.  
  
"Hey, I'm getting the hang of this," laughed Neo as he dipped Crystal. Suddenly, his laughing ceased when he looked into Crystal's eyes and noticed they had a beauty deeper than he had ever saw. Her eyes enticed him and he marveled at the beautiful emerald-green color.  
  
"Hey Neo, I just stopped by to say..." Trinity stopped dead in her tracks, her face turning green with jealousy when she gaped at Neo and Crystal just looking into each other's eyes.  
  
"This isn't what it looks like!" exclaimed Neo nervously as he put Crystal back on her feet and went to talk to Trinity.  
  
"Chill out! Neo, we were just celebrating over me finally finding a way to turn my true love from a program, incapable of loving, to a human, capable of loving me. Thanks for the dance, Neo; it was a great way to celebrate! Now you and Trinity get some alone time," winked Crystal as she slyly walked out the door.  
  
"Well, that's a relief!" sighed Trinity as she gave Neo a long kiss.  
  
"Come on, Trin, you know I could only love you."  
  
"It sure didn't seem that way when I saw your eyes, filled with what seemed to be love, and when I saw your eyes follow her all the way out the door."  
  
Neo laughed.  
  
"Crystal? Yeah right, not only is she in love with a program, but she also happens to be my best friend from my childhood."  
  
Trinity grinned from ear to ear.  
  
"I'm glad of that, let's go to my room." Whispered Trinity as she quietly led Neo up to her bed. 


	4. Suprising Sentinel

Chapter Four  
  
Crystal gazed intently out of her balcony in Zion, observing the countless machines that kept them alive. "How can something so useful and important to us be immediately transformed into something so evil? How can we war against the successors of the very machines that keep us alive?" Crystal received no answer from the looming darkness in front of her and was left staring at nothing at all.  
  
Then her thoughts turned back, once again, to the reason she was helping the crew of the Nebacanezour: to make Peter human. During her weeks at tapping the agents' phones, ear gear, computers, and any other means of communication, Crystal's heart sank when she only found a piece of the puzzle of making a program a human. The one piece she had found was that programs could somehow be reversed with a certain cheat code. Crystal was exasperated when she frantically listened to all the agents' communication with not even a hint at what this cheat code might be. Crystal sank into a chair, buried her head in her hands, and forced her mind to concentrate on how she could obtain the cheat code that she would give almost anything for.  
  
Crystal wallowed in her self-pity, becoming a true pessimist and her mind turned to the dark side, contemplating all the nagging questions she was too afraid to answer. What if the human Peter doesn't love me either? What if I try to discover the key to making Peter human but destroy him instead? What if the agents kill me before I have a chance to even try my chance at making Peter human? Am I too selfish, only thinking about my own needs instead of Zion and the human race? Shouldn't I help end this war against the machines? Crystals mind was full of many more questions that made her feel miserable.  
  
However, her thoughts were interrupted when a sentinel's red eyes loomed upon her. Crystal was too terrified to shriek, she merely froze in amazement that a sentinel could find her in Zion. Worried, she thrust a wrench at the sentinel, but it seemed to laugh at her as it grabbed the wrench with the tentacles and the last thing she remembered before complete blackness was the wrench hurling at her, at a speed she thought impossible.  
  
Crystal lay unconscious for several hours before she awoke, furious that she had been such an idiot to assume that Zion was safe. She was safe nowhere, in the Matrix or out. Crystal had let her mind drift, she had lost her alertness, but worst of all, she was incredibly selfish to be thinking that the world revolved around her. Crystal vowed that from that day forth, defeating the machines that kept so many people prisoners would be her first priority (of course turning Peter into a human would be her second, she couldn't forget her ardor and love so quickly). Her priority would be to save the human race from a fate worse than death: imprisonment and lack of freedom. With her new declaration, Crystal merrily hurried to Neo, anxious to tell him the news that the sentinels had found a way to penetrate Zion  
  
####################  
  
"How? How? How could this happen?" The general frantically paced back and forth. "We have ultimate security against the sentinels, we have guards, it's too soon for them to find us, too soon...we aren't prepared."  
  
"We have The One, therefore we are prepared," replied Morpheus peacefully.  
  
"Just "The One" won't be enough to stop all those darn sentinels from attacking all of Zion, destroying the only human city left! We need a strategy, we need a plan, we need more time," the general retaliated.  
  
Neo lightly stepped in from the shadows. Cooley, he said, "Don't worry. I'll find how those sentinels got in here, even if I have to risk my life."  
  
Crystal's eyes widened in shock. When she had known Tom Andersen in the office, he had been more cowardly than most and refused to read to go on any bungee-jumping trips with her, claiming that his life was too precious to risk. Back then, Crystal would've been the only one who cared whether Tom Andersen lived or died, therefore his life wasn't that precious, in that certain perspective. But now Neo was the idol of the thousands of people in Zion, now Neo was their believed savior, many would gladly give their lives for him. Yet, now he was brave enough to risk it, to defend freedom and give humans a chance of survival against the machines. Crystal's eyes sparkled in tears, touched at how much he would sacrifice for the greater good. Crystal realized she had to do the same. She held her head high and glided to the front of the counsel, clearing her throat.  
  
"Wait! There is another way! Tapping the agents' phone for a few weeks has given me some insight on how the sentinels found Zion. Apparently, they have found a certain cheat code that makes programs humans, yet those humans still succumb to the agents' orders. Therefore, the only way the sentinels would have found this fortress would be if there's a traitor among us, a program turned into a human, one who could easily give the agents the code to the gates of Zion. Unfortunately, there is only one-way to find if one of these "traitors" is a former program or not. They must be in contact with another human that falls in love with them. If the subject is immune to that human's feelings, then that subject is a former program, following the agents' orders. If the subject somehow feels that human's pain and is sorry that they can't love the human, the subject is then, in fact, a human."  
  
The counsels murmured amongst themselves until the general spoke.  
  
"Interesting theory, but we can't do that in time to stop the sentinels!"  
  
Crystal mischievously grinned and replied, "Of course we can! We just have to test the people in Zion who have access to Zion's code. We'll start with one of my main suspects: you, sir."  
  
"M-me?" 


	5. Saving the Day for the First Time

**Chapter Five**  
  
"Yes, you, sir are a prime suspect, because not only do you seem nervous at the thought of being considered a suspect, but you also hold the codes to the gates of Zion. Furthermore, you are a key component to the military, yet you always seem pessimistic about winning this war against the machines. You, sir, will be the first "man" or program to be submitted to the test. This test will involve questioning of people close to you and a few other components not to be revealed until I see fit. In the mean time, you will be held in the Zion jail." Crystal spoke with the voice of authority, and the whole situation seemed to make the general perspire more than Crystal every thought possible.  
  
The general grumbled, mumbled and tried unsuccessfully to defend his case, but the counsel could see right through him: he was lying through his teeth. Neo smiled at Crystal, and she gave him a thumbs-up sign like everything would be fine and that he wouldn't have to risk his life anymore. However, whenever Neo smiled at Crystal, Trinity clung to Neo's arm possessively, as if challenging Crystal to steal him.  
  
###########  
  
The general sat in the interrogation room, stolidly staring at the wall and trying hard to keep his cool, just like the earpiece in his ear had told him to do. Crystal paced back and forth, asking him several simple questions, such as, "Where were you born?" "When were you unplugged from the Matrix?" "Who were your parents?"  
  
The general sighed and responded all questions, stuttering, which caused Crystal to pause and wonder brainwashed to answer all questions coolly. Crystal was mystified, wondering what the general's real story actually was. Scratching her head, Crystal proceeded in her investigation by asking more simple questions, and then after many quick responses, she asked him one that cause him to hesitate for over five minutes: "Who do you work for?"  
  
"That's funny, a brain-washed person wouldn't hesitate like this general has been doing...I have a feeling that the agents have threatened him with something, like the kidnapping of someone dear to him, so he has been forced to do their bidding, the reason why he's so nervous, he doesn't want to lose what's dear to him," contemplated Crystal.  
  
Crystal paused her questioning while she tried to figure out a solution to deceive the agents and get the general to give them false codes. The idea hit her like lightning and a grin spread across her face. It was so simple! She felt incredibly idiotic that she hadn't thought of the idea before.  
  
Quietly, Crystal removed the earpiece from the general and destroyed it with her laser. This only caused the general to look even more frantic and try to retrieve the earpiece by throwing himself into the fire. Exasperated, Crystal pulled him out and put a finger to her lips. She wrote on a piece of paper:

_Don't worry; whatever you were blackmailed with has been cancelled because the laser sent imperceptible signals that have told the agents that you are supposedly dead. Those signals have also told the agents a fake code that leads them into a likeness of Zion, except with no people. Those signals have just saved Zion, but it won't be long before they try another attack. Now, all you have to do is stay out of The Matrix and change the codes so that no more sentinels get in here, but of course after you have betrayed Zion, you will constantly be watched. Ok, the earpiece is now completely destroyed so now you can speak normally.  
_  
The bald, wrinkled general sighed in relief and kissed Crystals feet in gratitude. However, his tears of joy became tears of grief as he crumpled to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably. Mystified, Crystal pulled him to his feet and gently asked him why he sobbed of such grief.  
  
"Of course, I'm happy that I don't have to anything for those freaking agents anymore, now that they won't kill my family if I don't obey their orders, but keeping me away from the Matrix is like taking away my air. My loving wife still lives in the Matrix and now that I can't see her, I might as well be dead because living without her is hell. Are you sure there isn't someway that I can go in?"  
  
"Sir, you must understand, the agents will automatically know you're in the Matrix and kill you instantly, causing your wife to commit suicide out of her grief of your death. And you wouldn't want that, would you? There is one good side to this whole situation, though. For one thing, Zion will be safe. Because I know how painful it is to be separated from the love of your life, will still be able to communicate with your wife, but in code so the agents don't try to destroy Zion for a while. Come on, it's been a rough day for all of us, let's go have some of that "delicious" gruel."  
  
"Miss, that gruel may be many things, nutritious, full of vitamins, keeping us alive, but it definitely isn't delicious, it's a pile of shit."  
  
Laughing, Crystal and the general walked out of the interrogation room.  
  
#####  
  
The air was one of celebration, as all of the Nebacanezor's crew rejoiced over Crystal saving the day for the first time. Even Trinity softened her attitude towards Crystal and went as far as to say "Congratulations" with a steady hand shake that showed Trinity trusted Crystal more than before.  
  
"I still don't trust her completely, though, because she still seems like the kind of woman who steals boyfriends just for fun...but I do trust her with the safety of Zion," declared Trinity, putting her arm around Neo.  
  
Neo nodded, not really listening to Trinity because he was too busy observing how beautiful Crystal looked when she grabbed everyone by the hand and encouraged even the most bashful to dance.  
  
The celebration abruptly ended when Mouse worriedly sprinted through the door, tapped Crystal on the shoulder and whispered, "They've got Peter."

-------

Any suggestions? You can see a drawing of Crystal at this link: http:images3.deviantart.com/i/2004/150/6/3/Crystal.jpg


	6. Love or Zion?

Chapter Six: Love or Zion?  
  
Crystal gasped, her heart thumping with worry of what the agents were going to do with the program that she was trying to make human. She swallowed her tears and asked Mouse, stuttering, "W-what do y-you m-mean when you say they've got P-peter?"  
  
"I mean that the agents are talking to Fox right now and have threatened to delete Peter unless you tell them what you did to the general."  
  
"But the agents are supposed to think that the general is dead, that's what the lasers were for..."  
  
"They do, but they think you killed the general, the only man that could give them the codes to the city gates, and now they think that you have the codes, so they're threatening to delete Peter unless you give it to them. They know the code signaled from the laser is fake."  
  
"Well, I do have the codes, the general revealed them to me because of his absolute trust...But which should I choose, my true love Peter? Or the last human city, Zion?"  
  
#####  
  
In the heart of New York City, Fox, a woman dressed in all white, sprinted through the streets, desperately trying to outrun the agents, who were torturing her for the information of where Crystal would appear. Fox refused to give up the location of the woman who had saved Zion a few hours before. But for that decision, she could die an extremely painful death. Fox was running out of breath and weakened by the constant torture of the agents. She gave up, crumpling to the ground and bracing herself for her death.  
  
Like a burst of thunder, Neo came spinning out of the sky, with kung fu, tae kwon do, countless other martial arts, and his own moves defying the rules of physics and gravity, he was bending the rules of the Matrix. Fox sighed in relief for she thought she had been a goner for sure until Neo came to her rescue.  
  
"Mr. Andersen, why don't you give up? It is inevitable, we will invade your city, no matter what it takes!" Agent Smith and Neo engaged in a series of fantastic moves.  
  
However, both were stopped when Crystal emerged outside a telephone booth, holding a microchip tightly in her hand.  
  
"Crystal, don't give him the codes! A program isn't worth it!" Neo yelled frantically. If Crystal gave him the codes, then Zion would be doomed, and the humans would lose any chance of freedom.  
  
"Silence! I will decide what I want to do with these codes! And Peter is not an ordinary program, he is the program I yearn to make a human, he is the program that I am in love with, therefore, I would give up the world for him to love me!" Crystal defiantly squinted at the sun.  
  
"Come here, Agent Smith, I'll give you your codes if you release Peter from your grasp and make him human!" Crystal held the microchip high above her head.  
  
"Stupid girl, do you really think I'll fall into your pathetic attempt at a trap? You fooled me once by sending those fake codes through the laser signal, why should I be so sure that you won't betray me again?" Agent Smith kept a meter distance away from Crystal, knowing that Neo would once again engage in fighting him if he got nearer than that.  
  
"I'm telling the truth this time! I would give anything for Peter, and he is worth the city of Zion! I'll even prove that these are the true codes, come with me! Neo, don't you even try to get near me, or I'll tell Mouse to unplug you back at the Nebacanezer! It seems I have more friends than I thought," cackled Crystal as she disappeared into the dark mist, the agent closely behind her.  
  
"I knew she couldn't be trusted," Trinity said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Why, Crystal, why? I thought I could trust you," muttered Neo sadly as tears filled his eyes at the thought of the extinction of the last human city, the last ray of hope in defeating the machines.  
  
#######  
  
Crystal had led Agent Smith to the caves of Zion, with the impatient agent tapping his foot at how long this was taking. "I'll delete Peter if this takes any longer," the indignant agent snapped.  
  
"Chill out, it's almost done," mumbled Crystal. She took the microchip in her hand and placed it in the slot before her and a deafening creak of the opening gates of Zion reached everyone's ears. "See? I told you I was telling the truth," said Crystal with a devious grin.  
  
"At last! The superior machines will defeat the insignificant humans and we will be in control," grinned Agent Smith.  
  
"Now, release Peter!"  
  
"Fool, never trust an agent in a deal, you'll always get the bad end."  
  
"Maybe, but never trust a human when she gives up her city because she usually has something up her sleeve. Now, Mouse!"  
  
A silver bullet penetrated the back of Agent Smith's head and he fell with a thud.  
  
"Nice work, Crystal, you're a great actress," beamed Mouse.  
  
"I didn't go to Actors Academy for nothing, those dumb classes finally came in handy," laughed Crystal.  
  
#####  
  
"I knew she could be trusted," said Trinity hypocritically when Crystal and Mouse told everyone in the dining room of the Nebacanezur how an agent was murdered and how Crystal acted extraordinarily well.  
  
Once again, the dining room was a site of celebration and everyone was laughing and being jublious, except for a tear-streaked woman sobbing in a corner: Crystal. Crystal should've been proud to be such a hero for Zion, but she could only think how her plan to have both Peter and Zion had failed because the agent had not held up his end of the bargain. Now Crystal was stuck once again with trying to discover the codes that would make Peter human. She thought sadly that true love wasn't meant for her, God had put her on the earth to have her suffer of heartbreak to teach all humans that love wasn't worth it. The thought of it all brought even more tears.  
  
Trinity was busy patrolling the Matrix, so Neo saw how miserable Crystal was and went to talk to her.  
  
"What's wrong? You saved Zion, you should be proud! And you even had me convinced that you were evil, that was incredible acting!"  
  
"But I couldn't save Peter, the only man in this world who could ever love me!"  
  
Neo hesitated.  
  
"That's not true."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Because I love you." 


	7. Flashback

This chapter is dedicated to my faithful reviewer, Ralph, who has given me many ideas that have helped my mind get rid of the writer's block. Thank you Ralph!   
  
Chapter 7  
  
Crystal widened her eyes in astonishment. She regained her composure and said, in what she hoped was an indifferent voice,  
  
"What about Trinity?"  
  
"You showing up again, after us being neighbors since we were ten, have made me question my feelings for you all over again. Trinity is the last thing on my mind right now. I think I never loved her. I was merely in love with the thought of someone caring so much about me. But Trinity can't compare to you. You have courage, humor, beauty, and intelligence that are ten times greater than Trinity's qualities will ever be. And I know you so much better, we grew up side by side, we worked side by side, for so many years...and during those many years, I couldn't help falling in love as I got to know you. And although I have tried to restrain myself from expressing my feelings so you can be guilt-free about being in love with Peter, but my love has been held in for so many years that it just broke through.  
  
Remember when we were kids, Crystal? And your mom named you Crystal because she wanted you to grow up to be a proper, delicate woman? Oh, we were the best of the friends on the playground and later on all the movies I watched seemed hilarious when you were there with me...you broke my heart then, when you started dating the star of the football team...I vowed I would never fall for you again. But the truth is, I never got over you. Your protests against animal testing, helping the homeless, always giving your allowance to the poor...The size of your heart never ceased to amaze me, and you were always so cheerful that I fell in love with your kindness, but even more in love with all of you, the paragon of perfection."  
  
"I'm not the same person anymore, Neo. I've changed. I'm not the carefree, free-spirited hippie girl that you once knew. I'm horrendous compared to Trinity, you deserve much better than me. A caring, loving person like you does not want someone like me, believe me."  
  
"How can someone like you be horrendous? How did you change? You still seemed like the carefree dancer the other day when you convinced me to bust a move..."  
  
Crystal burst into angry sobs. "Stop putting me up on a pedestal because I'm not who you think I am!"  
  
Neo stepped back, aghast. He had never seen Crystal show this much rage. He tried to calm her down by stroking her hair, but she pulled away angrier than before. She spoke between sobs.  
  
"You're not in love with me, you're in love with the idea of someone like I used to be, someone who cares about the world as much as you do. Well, you know what? What use is it to care so much about the world if you're punished with suffering like I was? You think you know me so well? I bet you didn't know that I did some time in a reformatory ...for m-murder. An idiotic, senseless burst of violence and it was my fault and..."  
  
Crystal crumpled to the ground, shaking from the brutal memory of those many nights ago in the dark thunderstorm ...  
  
The lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder rumbled with such force that Crystal clung to her mother tighter than before. The older raven-black haired woman with sparkling green eyes like her daughter merrily smiled and told Crystal not to be afraid because the whole world was watching over them. Crystal relaxed and she returned to briskly walking on the slippery pavement. But Crystal saw a suspicious, hazy figure in the distance but decided not to warn her mother since she had said that the whole world was good, so Crystal was sure this man was just going to bring her mother an umbrella to keep out the cold. Crystal didn't think that this man could be potentially dangerous so she decided not to warn her mother, of poor eye-sight, assuming the man would either pass right by them or give them an umbrella.  
  
She was dead wrong. The man with sunglasses and trench coat leaped upon Crystal's screaming mother, raped her, and then shot her between the eyes, dead, dropping his pistol and disappearing into the night. Crystal called out, "Mommy, mommy" many times but was only greeted with silence. Crystal began to cry and wanted to hear her mother's voice again. Crystal remembered that her mother had told her that everyone went to heaven when they died, so Crystal figured out that she could shoot herself with the pistol the man had left behind and be together with her mother at last and pay for the hideous mistake of not warning her mother of the potential danger. Crystal thought that her mother's death was her fault, because she had failed to give any warning. Crystal thought she could've stopped the hideous man from killing her mother if only she hadn't hidden in fear. She picked up the stranger's pistol and held it in her hand, but before she could pull the trigger, a police car approached her and found her with a pistol in hand with a corpse lying next to her.  
  
The police questioned frightened five-year-old Crystal, and when they asked her if she had killed her mother, she replied that she had because Crystal truly believed that her mother's death was her fault. The police promptly shipped Crystal to a reformatory where Crystal was so constantly trying to commit suicide that she had to be sent to a mental ward where she was hypnotized to forget the entire incident of her mother's death and try to live a normal family life.  
  
The mental ward finally succeeded in hypnotizing Crystal to forget the incident when she turned nine years old, so they moved her out into the country with a trustworthy foster parent, where Crystal became the free- spirited girl living next to Neo.  
  
But the hypnotism could only block out the painful memory for so long. And it wasn't until the night that the sentinel attacked her that the entire brutal incident came flooding back, filling her with guilt once again. Crystal was no longer the same person.  
  
Crystal hadn't realized that she had sobbed her entire painful flashback out loud, and Neo looked at her with his gentle brown eyes, feeling sorry for the woman he loved. He tried to comfort her,  
  
"It wasn't your fault that your mother died, Crystal, you have to come at peace with that! You were only five years old when it happened and just because you never had a parent who loved you doesn't mean anyone else can't love you too. I still love you, because it wasn't you that killed that your mother, it was the man with sunglasses. Come on, do you think you could give me a chance, the sure thing, instead of Peter, a program who might never become human?"  
  
Crystal hesitated. 


	8. Suprise!

Thank you all for all the marvelous reviews! Although this fan fic wasn't intended to be a parody, it is quickly becoming one accidentally, so I guess I'll just go with the flow. Sorry about the coming short chapter, but I only have eleven minutes to write it, so bear with the terrible rushed spelling.

**Chapter Eight**

Suddenly, Neo's head quickly spun off, almost hitting Crystal as she ducked.

"What the..?" Crystal questioned after she screamed.

Crystal was schocked to notice that the Neo she had been talking too was actually a highly complex robot who seemed to have mal functioned. She sighed in relief. Crystal wouldn't have known what to say if the real Neo actually loved her. Crystal kneeled down to examine the robotic Neo closer and noticed the genius of the whole construction, and puzzled over who on earth would build a robot to fool her.

Trinity quickly walked in and smirked smuggly.

"So, you actually thought Neo could love you when he has _me? _How ridiculous! But I had you fooled and I found out that you, in fact, aren't in love with Neo as I had suspected...Thank God, because you would've had your heart broken by him and your body broken by me! But now that this mess is cleared up between the two of us, I hope we can be friends, because I admire your intelligence to unscramble the machines' language and your taste in men."

Crystal laughed openly and was glad she had finally earned Trinity's trust.

"Good, we can at last get along!"

Trinity thought to herself, "Not quite yet, carrot top, not quite yet. You're still too suspicious for my complete trust."

At the dinner Crystal was so sick of that night, Neo seemed to gaze and admire Trinity even more than usual, mostly because Trinity had huffingly told him that she felt unloved.


	9. Robot Neo

**Chapter Nine**

Neo was being so affectionate toward Trinity, that Crystal almost suspected that Neo was a program being controlled by her, but Neo proved he wasn't when he rolled his eyes as Trinity squeezed him. Dinner was sickening; Crystal had gotten tired of the same old gruel every day so she ate a bite and pushed away her bowl with remorse.

Neo and Trinity slipped away where no one else could see, into the darkness of the night.

"Here's the robot I made of you," said Trinity proudly as she showed the real Neo the robotic Neo with the broken head.

"Am I really that fat?" Neo joked.

"This is no time for jokes, I just wanted to show you that I did what you asked of me, so that you know I would do anything for you."

"I'm really sorry I can't tell you the reason for this robot that looks like me, but then you would be in danger if you knew what I know. The agents would come after you."

"Don't worry, I'll find out sooner or later what you're up to."

"Can you fix the robot's head?"

Trinity nodded,"In a day, maximum."

"Great, then this war against the machines might be won thanks to this robot."

Neo mysteriously walked away.

Meanwhile, Crystal lay in her cot, pondering if she was really in love with the program Peter. She didn't feel the urgency she once did to turn him into a human because the human Peter might hate her just as much as the program Peter, and she wasn't in a hurry to find out the truth. Crystal sighed and puzzled over the complexity of her emotions and was baffled over what she really felt. She was just about to get on her stomach and get to sleep when suddenly she rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.

She saw a sentinel's tentacle sticking out of Neo's backpack.


	10. Questions Unanswered

What Crystal didn't realize was that the Neo she saw was NOT the real Neo. He was the robotic Neo programmed to act exactly like him except that this robot followed every order uttered by the real Neo and Trinity. However, Crystal had no knowledge about this so she ran up to Neo angrily and demanded an explanation for the horrible tentacle sticking out of his backpack.

"It's just a replica of a sentinel so Zion can learn how to destroy them better."

"I don't believe you, you wouldn't be walking at three in the morning if it were something that simple, tell me, what is it really?"

"Well, since Neo.."

"Wait, you're speaking of yourself in the third person now?"

"Stupid human, you know nothing. As I was saying, since my masters didn't order me not to tell you what it is so I might as well. I'm joining the side of the machines to destroy Zion."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you.."

Before Crystal could finish her sentence, the robotic Neo left her standing in the dark, filled with unanswered questions.


	11. Return of Peter

**Chapter Eleven**

While a puzzled Crystal was scratching her head in confusion, Trinity and the real Neo discussed the purpose of the robotic Neo.

Trinity cleared her throat and began, "Neo, I know you want the machines to think this robot is you and that he's going to join their side, but..."

"I know, I know, you think that if the resistance finds out they'll attempt to kill me. However, you have nothing to worry about because I've got all under control."

"Alright, I'll trust you then and hope for the best. Hopefully, this robot will end the war at last..."

Although Trinity said this out loud, she was secretly thinking of the dire consequences that could come from using this type of robot that had barely been tested..

Suddenly, Crystal burst in, out of breath from running the fastest she had ever run in her life. Sliding to a stop, she exclaimed in a panicky voice,

"I saw Neo with a sentinel! What should we do, Trinity?"

Oh great, Crystal has to know to the plan know or she'll blab to the whole resistance, thought Trinity with deep distrust and suspicion. Trinity sighed and said in an irritated voice,

"No, that was a robot. The real Neo is right here," Trinity pointed to Neo, "and I'm afraid that now you must know that we have a plan to end the war by using this robot. Happy now?"

Crystal blushed at how ready she had been to suspect Neo, the Chosen One, of being able to switch sides so quickly.

"Alright, I'm much more trusting than I once was, so I'll believe you and go back to sleep," said Crystal keeping her compusure as she walked swiftly to her bed.

#########

After Crystal had cleared her mind of ever suspecting Neo, her thoughts turned to Peter, a subject she had barely thought about since she had been so busy decifering the Machine's messages to the Resistance.

She still thought of him with a certain pang in her heart, but she was beginning to think that maybe she was more over him than she thought. He rarely entered her thoughts anymore and she was ready to believe that she could face him with the utmost coolness. However, she still had the fleeting feeling of wanting deeply to turn him human still. Crystal just wanted to know if it was possible for Peter to love her. All these thoughts made it extremley difficult for her to sleep and she was up all night trying to decide whether she was over him or not. Finally, the morning came and she fell to sleep out of exhaustion.

###########

In the morning, she got ready to be plugged in once again and spy on the machines to decipher their intentions on invading Zion anytime soon.

As soon as she got into the Matrix, Peter stood in front of her, smiling as if she were the most welcome sight in the world.

"Crystal, I've missed you beyond words," he said lovingly with tears in his eyes as he took her into his arms. Crystal pushed him away and retorted,

"What? How can a program have feelings?"

"But I'm a human now! The machines felt they had no longer any use for me as a program so they made me into a human in order to escape the questioning that would arise due to my dissappearance."

Crystal was overcome with emotion as she remembered all the love for him she still felt and she gave him a passionate kiss which at last Peter responded to.

"Oh, Peter! We'll be so happy together!"

Suddenly, two agents appeared behind a bewildered Peter and handcuffed Crystal.

Although Crystal had been trained in mortal combat, the agents had stuck a pen filled with a chemical that rendered her helpless and all she could do was whisper weakly as she drifted out of conciousness,

"Peter, please help me, please..."


	12. Trapped

**Chapter Twelve**

Crystal awoke feebly and found herself trapped in an interrogation room. She banged on the glass, screaming for help, but eventually she slumped down at the realization that Peter had decieved her into this awful trap, he had played with her feelings to trap her for the agents. Tears quietly flowed down.

Crystal was extremley angry at herself for being fooled as easily as she had been, but she was torn apart inside because she had always known, deep down, that Peter loving her was too good to be true. But she had been fooled so rapidly into thinking it could happen because she wanted Peter's love more than anything else in the world. It was all wishful thinking on her part to ever expect that Peter, the guy with one flaw could ever love her.

"It's hopeless," thought Crystal to herself. "If the most perfect guy in the world will never love me, who could ever? I don't want to live in a world like this anymore! I want my love to be returned! I don't want to be decieved like I always am! I just want a true love that works out for once. Is that too much to ask?" screamed Crystal looking furiously at the walls like they were hidden enemies.

"Well, I'm sick of a world where nothing ever works out! And I won't let those idiotic agents get Zion's code out of me. There's only one thing left for me to do that will solve all of my problems," whispered Crystal as she quietly slipped a glass flask out of her pocket. Raising the flask to the ceiling, she smiled and toasted, "To all my problems that will be solved."

Gulping down the liquid, she wiped her mouth and smashed the flask to the floor as she instantly collapsed on the ground. Her heart stopped, her breathing stopped, and her beautiful peach complexion turned as white as snow.

Suddenly, the agents burst in, frowning. One coldly asked the other,

"Is she dead?"

The other agent swifly bent down, felt her pulse then dropped her wrist on the ground disgustedly.

"Yes."

Both agents leaned in to take a closer look, but neither had time to do anything else because Crystal's arm flew up with a revolver and both agents, too stunned to dodge the bullets, fell to the ground.

"Or am I?" asked Crystal smugly though there was no one else in the room.

She slipped her revolver back into the holster and smiled as she headed out to seek her other problem, the one thing on her mind and heart for many months.


	13. Revenge

**Chapter 13**

Crystal discreetly walked in alley ways and crowded streets in order to avoid being caught by the agents once again. While she kept putting one foot in front of the other, her mind wandered far away, to the feelings she thought she had pushed back so far that they would never come up again. Yet they had, and now Crystal learned that feelings as strong as her couldn't be ignored, so she let out a deep sigh and reflected, talking to herself in her mind.

"I know I'm on my way to see Peter, but how do I explain to a program the deep feelings a complex human can feel? What do I want with him? Do I want revenge from him tricking me into his trap? Do I want to know, once and for all, if he could actually love me? Or do I just want closure to this disaster of a relationship? The only conclusion to all these unanswered questions is that I just want to see him one last time, I just want to hear his voice...Yet I still want revenge, somehhow...I can't stand being tricked by a program! Yes, I know what I want: I want one last kiss, one last look, and then my revenge," she decided angrily as she clenched her fist.

What Crystal didn't realize was that the agents had meddled with Crystal's mind while she had been in the interrogation room. The agents had just begun with the process of getting the codes to Zion, but since the process was interrupted before completion, the result had been disastrous to Crystal's mind. In simplest terms, the agents had mistakenly enlarged the affect of how Crystal's emotions would make her act. Crystal's feelings all led her to hasty decisions and spur-of-the-moment actions. Crystal's feelings were completley controlling her, and she could hold back nothing that she felt until several hours later, when the effect would wear off.

Crystal ignorantly knocked on Peter's door with an ignorant smile.

"Crystal! I'm so glad to see you alive, there's something I need to tell you," beamed Peter as he hugged Crystal with more love than she had ever felt.

"Those games won't work with me anymore, Peter! I know you led me into that awful trap, I know you don't really love me, and I know that you have hurt me enough! I'm tired of being hurt, I'm sick of being completley obsessed with you! You have no idea how hard it is to love with all one's might and not be loved in return," sobbed Crystal as she pushed Peter away.

"Crystal, I didn't know those agents were there, honest! I was worried about you! I..."

"Enough of your excuses! You need a taste of your own medicine, how unrequited love feels. Well, let me tell you, it feels like a bullet to the heart!" yelled Crystal with narrowed eyes.

"You have to believe me! Forget the past and embrace the present! I'm human now, not a program, and I need to ask you a question. Will..."

"We'll see if you're human or not! There's only one way to find out!" Crystal passionatly kissed Peter then said,

"One last kiss, and now you'll feel the true agony of unrequite love!" Crystal angrily yelled as she stabbed Peter with a knife and watched him fall to the ground, drenched in blood.

She spat on him and said,

"So long, program, they made you so real that you even bleed like a real human!"

Neo ran out from behind a cupboard, a bewildered look on his face and asked with eyes wide in shock,

"Crystal, what have you done? I helped Peter turn into a human and he was about to propose to you!"

Crystal dropped her knife in surprise and slumped to the ground, and everything went black.


	14. Is she Crazy?

**Chapter 14**

Crystal awoke with Neo standing over her, a frown on his face.

"Crystal, why did you do it?"

"I don't know, the emotion of anger just overtook me, I just wanted revenge so badly...My feelings were controlling me more than ever before, and believe me, they already controlled me quite a bit. And now, I have killed my chance of happiness as well as a program who had only been human for a while before his life was snatched from him."

"The agents probably meddled with your mind, but that's going to be hard to prove considering your past relationship with Peter failed. I don't even know if I believe that the agents meddled with your mind, because face it Crystal, you ALWAYS let your emotions control your actions."

Crystal sobbed uncontrollably, like she did frequently. Neo sighed and declared,

"You see? You're so emotional that almost everytime I talk to you, you're sobbing! I don't even know if you're mentally stable anymore. I think you belong back at the mental asylum where you went after your mother's death. I'm not even sure I believe that story about the rapist killing her. The police said they witnessed the incident and that they saw you kill your own mother by shooting her with their own eyes."

"But I didn't! The agents took over my body and made it appear like I shot her!"

"So you have a new story, Crystal? What's next, aliens? If that is the truth, then why tell that story about the rapist in the first place?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't believe the story about the agents!"

Neo sighed.

"Not only are you mental, but you also seem to be a compulsive liar."

"I only lied so that you would let me help the Resistance in this war against the machines. I knew you wouldn't let me if you knew agents had taken over my body! You have to believe me! I've lost everything: my credibility, my happiness, and my true love. Don't take me away from the Resistance too!"

Crystal's tear-streaked face softened Neo but he knew not to believe in everything Crystal did anymore. His fleeting feeling of pity left him and he down on her roughly,

"I'm sorry, but we can't risk having a person with mental instability. We must plug you back in the Matrix and erase your memory of all of this."

"You can't do this! You don't understand, I'm..."

Crystal was interrupted by suddenly falling on the ground, unconcious after Neo had discreetly given her some strong sleeping pills.

"I'm sorry, Crystal. But you'll never finish that sentence, and it was too risky to wait until you made your get away."

Neo briskly walked off, leaving Crystal's fate to Fox and Mouse, the two people who would erase her memory and plug her in to the Matrix, where she would remain until the day she died.

########

Morpheus consulted the Oracle, sitting on a park bench. Morpheus's forehead was wrinkled in worry and the Oracle solemnly spoke,

"The woman who will assist The One in fulfilling the prophecy has been plugged into the Matrix after being with the resistance for several months."

"I don't understand. We have never plugged someone back in who has been in the resistance."

"Neo just has."

"But can we win the war without this woman?"

"We cannot see beyond the choices we do not understand."

Suddenly it dawned on Morpheus that Crystal was the woman who would assist them with winning the war against the machines.

"If we don't get Crystal back into the resistance, can The One still fulfill the prophecy?"

The Oracle put on a solemn expression and said,

"My time is up. Go back to the Nebacanezur."


	15. Final

**Chapter 15**

Neo leaned against the railing, sighing as he rubbed his eyes, unable to sleep with the guilt on his conscience that Crystal might indeed be innocent.

"Of course she was guilty! And even if she wasn't, putting her back in the Matrix is probably the best thing for her, seeing as she is too mentally instable to be with the Resistance. I might have even saved her life, who knows if she would have died or not on the Resistance..."

Neo's thoughts were interrupted by Morpheus bursting in, his brow furrowed in worry.

"Neo! Get Crystal back from the Matrix! The machines are upon us and The Oracle proclaimed that she will help us win the war! Hurry, we have no time!"

Morpheus quickly walked away, frantically warning all of Zion to get ready for the machine's invasion.

Stunned, Neo could barely think, let alone move. However, he knew that he couldn't wait long or all of the human race would be doomed, so he rushed to Matrix chair and rapidly plugged himself in.

&%$$#!

"I'm in," Neo said coldly as he picked up the red phone in the warehouse he found himself in. Neo then jumped up and flew high above the city, searching for any sign of Crystal. Spotting a flash of red hair, he dove to the ground and tapped the woman with the red hair on the shoulder.

"Crystal?" he questioned hopefully.

But the woman who turned around looked disgustedly at Neo and proclaimed,

"Ugh, just another man interested in me. Like I've said a thousand times, I'm taken, so all you men better stop bothering me!"

With a hmmph, the woman quickly strolled off.

Scratching his head, Neo finally remembered that Crystal would most likely be in the New York Mental Asylum, so he soared into the sky once again and landed in front of the white block building he had been looking for.

He opened the huge double doors and had to fight back the urge to flinch everytime he saw another poor unfourtanate mentally insane person. He was fighting every urge in his body when he looked closely at each of members of the asylum, searching for Crystal.

After searching for what seemed like a century, Neo, shocked, saw what had become of Crystal.

Her read hair was chopped to her chin and in dissarray, her eyes had lost all the life they once had, her clothes were torn and ragged, and all she did was rock back and forth, moaning "why?" over and over again. Upon seeing Neo, Crystal's face held an even blanker expression than before, and she asked,

"Food?"

Neo choked back his tears at the terrible harm he had caused Crystal and cooly took her by the shoulder and said,

"I can fix this, you just need the memory laser. Come with me and you'll get your memory back."

Crystal didn't reply, she merely stared off into space and began rocking back and forth again, only this time muttering, "Revenge on Neo, revenge on Neo..."

&%$$#!

"Come on, we need a doctor here!" a terrified member of Zion screamed as she held her baby in her arms. The machines had attacked, and deep down she knew that the machines would ultimatley win the war, but she held her crying baby in her arms and fought back these fears and hoped and prayed that Neo would bring salvation to the entire human race.

"Any minute now, that Neo will finally fulfill the prophecy..." thought the woman hopefully

&%$$#!

After Neo had carried a screaming Crystal to the warehouse and subjected her to the memory-laser, he began the difficult task of explaining why he had put her in the mental ward and why he had changed his mind about her.

"Crystal, why didn't you tell me that you were going to help The One defeat the machines?"

Indignantly, Crystal retorted, "Well, I certainly tried but then you zapped me with that stun gun, erased my memory and made me go crazy."

"But you certainly were acting crazy..."

"Ugh, Neo, give it a rest! We need to beat these machines and we need to beat them now! Come on, Zion could be gone by now! Ask for an exit, I've had a plan of exactly how to beat the machines ever since The Oracle told me I was crucial to victory! Hurry!"

Gaping at Crystal, Neo quickly requested an exit.

"Just a little while longer, and Zion will be mine...." cackled an evil voice in the shadows.

Crystal ran through the dirt tunnels of Zion, searching frantically for the machines.

"Come on out, machines! I'm ready to face you!"

She was met with silence.

"Afraid, huh?"

The machines couldn't resist such the preposterous question muttered and came forth, snapping their tentacles, their red eyes ready to focus on Crystal to kill her.

Crystal merely stood her ground, glaring furiously at the machines.

Finally, the inevitable happened: a sentinel grabbed her by the waste with its metal tentacles and prepared to strike her dead.

Crystal pulled some wires in the sentinel and then miraculously, red beams shot out of her eyes and all of Zion was surrounded in red light, coming right out of her eyes. The sentinels dropped to the ground and a groan and a final mutter of, "You may have defeated The Head Machine, but peace is fleeting," was heard before complete silence hit Zion.

Crystal fell to the ground along with the sentinels. She coughed blood and struggled to breathe. She clung to her side, willing the pain to go away.

Neo rushed over and looked into her eyes and declared,

"You can't die! Not after saving Zion, not after all you've been through to get here!"

Crystal smiled feebly. Her voice was barely audible, a faint whisper.

"Silly Neo, those are exactly the reasons why I MUST die. I am part program, part human, a glitch in The Matrix that was never rectified. And I was created for complete destruction of metal with my eyes, that was my only purpose. And since I have completed that purpose, death must fall upon me."

"But you're more human than anyone I know! How can this be?"

"My mother fell in love with a program, and because of a glitch in that program, he fertilized her egg and I was born, half human, half program. I never knew I was a program until that day when you erased my memory....Then when I was shipped off to the loony bin, the doctors discovered me for what I really was and the agents were ready to "delete" me, so to speak. However, I am only HALF program so their attempt failed, and they were just about to force me to die by triggering my destruction ray from my eyes when you burst in and brought me to Zion. Well, I guess all this explains why I had the ridiculous notion to fall in love with a program myself: I'm truly my mother's daughter and...."

More blood came pouring out of Crystal's mouth and she coughed uncontrollably.

"Good...bye.....liberate......humans.....from.....Matrix."

Gasping for air that wouldn't come, Crystal's eyes rolled up and her head fell to the floor. She was dead.

The war against the machines was won, and the human race was saved. Neo allowed one tear to slide down his cheek but quickly regained his composure and listened to Morpheus address the people of Zion,

"We have won the war and the human race is saved, but our work is far from done. We still must clear up the sky that we scorched long ago, liberate more people from the Matrix, and rebuild what was once a free, great human empire. So, get to work!"

With that said, the humans of Zion quickly scrambled and began their workwith a sensational feeling that the future would be brighter tomorrow.

&%$#!

Crystal would always be remembered as the only machine, even if only half, that had ever helped them, but everyone believed Crystal had merely been a soldier in a war and that Neo had truly defeated the sentinels. After all, people only believe what they want to believe. So ends the adventure of Crystal, the woman with an odd love.

&%$#!

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the fan fic if you read all of it. It was sort of a parody, except it started out serious but then inevitably became too dumb to actually be a serious fan fic, so I went with the flow and wrote this parody. Comments appreciated.


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